ABU DHABI - US Secretary of State John Kerry will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Paris on Wednesday, the State Department said, as he seeks to nudge Israel and the Palestinians toward a peace deal by the end of April.

US-brokered talks between the two sides have made little visible progress since they resumed in July after a three-year hiatus with a goal of reaching an agreement within nine months.

"Secretary Kerry will meet with Palestinian Authority President Abbas in Paris, France on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in Abu Dhabi, where Kerry is meeting senior United Arab Emirates officials.

Kerry has been the main driver in the Obama administration seeking to end the more than six-decade conflict, whose major unresolved issues include borders, security, the fate of Palestinian refugees and the status of Jerusalem.